Snooker star Allen battling depression
Snooker's world number 11 Mark Allen has admitted that he is battling with depression.
The Northern Irish potter is the second high profile sportsman to admit to struggling with the disease this month, with England bowler Michael Yardy having recently pulled out of the cricket World Cup for the same reason.
"We all live out of suitcases and, for me, it's just come to a head," Allen told the Irish Mirror.
"I suppose, if I look back on certain things in my career, this has been coming for a long time. But more recently I've really felt more down than I ever have.
"Some days I wake up and I just can't be bothered, I don't have the motivation to do anything.
"It does get very lonely when you're looking at the four walls of a hotel room for most of the year.
"I've been a professional for a few years now and all I've done since then is play snooker, I've known nothing else."
Allen, still only 25, is considered one of the brightest young talents on the snooker circuit; he reached the semi-finals of the World Championships in 2009 and then the quarters in 2010.
Last season alone, he made over £112,000 in prize money.
"If I knew what the problem was then I would have sorted it, but I've been seeing a counsellor to see what the problem is.
"It helps to talk about how I'm feeling because when you're on the road, or at a tournament, you don't really have the chance to tell anyone how you're feeling.
"I'd say I get on with 99 per cent of the other players, but to be honest everyone has their own routines and being a snooker player is a very lonely life."
Comment 17 - 36 of 36
Come on lad! The only way to beat depression is to win which you will do! Keep going Mark for yourself and your fans sake................
This article has been on here so long that I'm beginning to get depressed by it. Move on Eurosport. At this point, I don't really care.
dave was saying to dave go and see the kids with cancer,well dave ive seen them and my wife,two things i do hate in life ,children being ill and a wife/husband dies sometime in life after say 64 years like my uncle.you see his depressin.and yes dave its like a internal disease.we should be trying to lift dave not bring the poor soul down.one thing i would say to all with problems ,take it to the lord in prayer.come on dave you can do it.think of those poor souls like dave said .but we must not bring you down,GOD BE WITH YOU.I WILL PRAY FOR YOU AND THE SICK CHILDREN DAVE.
Mark listen!.......You play a "GAME" for a living!!.. a game of whicn you have proven ability to play at a very high standard. Fortunately for you, this game that you have a god given talent for, is "accepted" (especially in the u.k) as a reasonably high profile "sport" and therefore attracts a reasonable amount of media attention along with a admirable fee paying public !!
Surely as a good ameture player and as your career progressed through to the great highs that you are now achieving your manager/coach or pure self awareness would offer you an insight as to the flipside or pitfalls that come with achieving greatnesss within ones own chosen proffession?
Ofcourse there are always going to be lonely nights in hotel rooms along with days spent in unfamiliar towns and citys. but surely what should motivate you and continually be at the forefront of your mind is you are doing "for a living" what you set out to do for a living 12 or15yrs or so ago or whenever you 1st started knocking in those 30 & 40 breaks regular, and also focus on the fact that you wont be finishing off your working life tramping around some factory floor operating some sort of machinary untill your bus pass gets posted to you...for christs sake Mark come on buddy !!
Well cheer up then...!
Get well soon Mark.
Dave
Quite clearly u have no idea what or how depression is, Depression affects everyone in different ways no matter what standing u have or how much money u have. Quite clearly ur the prat and not Mark Allen. If Mr Allen does have deprssion i'd like to wish him all the best in his recovery and hope he's back on for soon.
Wee markay needs tae waatch som firemon sam. i wasant fealin veray wel yestarday & firemon sam perked me up a bit. hurray hurray firemon sam, e's always on tha scene, firemon sam, e keeps e's engine nice & cleen sam is tha hero next doooooor.
i feelsorry for him as depression is horrible ronnie also suffers from it i suppose when you are winning its ok but when you loose so close to a final you question yourself even though its just the game ithink he should talk to ronnie about it as he has been in the exact same situation good luck mark future great player
Depression is a killer. I was so close to being a victim of suiside a few years ago. I took an overdose of sleeping pills. I still can't work out how i ever got that low. I guess it's like i said earlier, depression is like a virus that spreads throughout the mind. That's why (as a fan of mark allen) i am very concerned for him. He might just bounce back in a few weeks or months, but then again he could very well be at the start of something that he never recovers from. I am still here, but the legacy of the suisidal depression will last forever. I'm not looking for sympathy, i'm just trying to convey the seriousness of mark allens predicament.
anything u choose good luck
get over it or yourself!
Awwww poor wee Markay. All tha best wee fela. ear, Markay? af yer fealin a wee bit undar tha weller ye cad always hit tha jaggarboms sham.
Hope Mark Allen will be able to recover from this awful disease.
we love you man, please get over it. i hope to see you potting those balls soon and i also hope you'll be a world champion.
I do not know Mark Allen nor do I know anyone on this forum. I would say that it would be very difficult for anyone who has not suffered from a real depression to understand the depth of the mire than one can feel he/she is in. It does not leave you alone for a minute. There is no light at the end of the tunnel whether you are wealthy or poor. Sure it is more often things like bereavement, financial worries, work or relationships that get us down or worried, but once you cross the point of dealing with your troubles rationally, you can fall into a state of mind that very little can cure except time and help. Its not so easy to fix as just taking time out from his sport. He may torture himself with the thought of what he is missing out on and what he should be doing. Even if he takes time out, the thought of going back to his sport may also prevent him from recovering. The earlier he seeks help the better. Its probably true that some people may use depression as an excuse, but if there is a chance that it can worsen then it deserves to be given respect. It is a genuine illness that is only coming to light in this past generation. Some people are more succeptable than others and no genuine sufferer would choose to be that way or wish it on their worst enemy. It does not mean you are weak. Its more often achievers who suffer than people who are happy to accept life as it is. I am sure that many sufferers would choose acceptance of what their circumstances are rather than the side effects of discontentment and self loathing.
Sparky, max respect man. Glad to see someone with an informed opinion for once.
take some time off,dont play as many tounaments,go home to your family
You'd be wrong again then Sparky. I wont respond by baiting you, ( check my previous post) and I won't respond by ' name calling' , either.
Fair point Sparky, but thats working on the criteria that others on here haven't experienced depression , personally, or witnessed somebody they know and love suffering with it, which is unlikely and a bit presumptuous. The real point being here, that it's not about our personal experiences with depression, or what we percieve to be depression, the point is, and this is according to the best medical experts, that 'depression', typically is caused by such life effecting events as ''bereavement, divorce, illness, redundancy and job or money worries'', Now, I don't claim to be a personal friend of Mark Allens, but, generally speaking I wouldnt associate any of the above with Marks present situation, evidently alchaol plays a big part in this too, but I dont know if thats a problem with Mark, he doesnt strike me as that sort of bloke at least. I dont want to sound as if I dislike Mark Allen, on the contrary, he's a great player and more to the point, a nice bloke, but, I maintain my views on this, I dont dispute or argue that 'Depression' is a genuine illness, I just believe it's all too conveniently used as an excuse when things dont go to plan, for some.
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